Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine with a drying basket rotatably provided in a water tank and with a pulsator provided at the bottom portion of the drying basket has a difference between the optimum number of revolutions of the drying basket and that of the pulsator. The washing machine is provided with a pole change motor for driving the drying basket and the pulsator wherein the motor is driven with a large number of poles in washing and rinsing operations and with a small number of poles in a drying operation to drive the dehydrating basket and the pulsator at an optimum speed of rotation.

United States Patent [191 Sikamori et al.

WASHING MACHINE Tamotu Sikamori; Haruyuki Kaito, both of Hitachi, JapanHitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan May 11, 1973 Inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No:

Foreign Application Priority Data May 12. 1972 Japan .4 47-46352 US. Cl.68/12 R, 68/236 Int. Cl D06f 23/04, D06f 33/02 Field of Search 68/12 R,23, 23.6, 23.7,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/196] Green 68/23.7 X 2/1962Metz 318/207 R X 3,248,908 5/1966 Pope 68/23.7 X

Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman Assistant Eruminer-Philip R. CoeAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Craig & Antonelli [57] ABSTRACT A washingmachine with a drying basket rotatably provided in a water tank and witha pulsator provided at the bottom portion of the drying basket has adifference between the optimum number of revolutions of the dryingbasket and that of the pulsator. The washing machine is provided with apole change motor for driving the drying basket and the pulsator whereinthe motor is driven with a large number of poles in washing and rinsingoperations and with a small number of poles in a drying operation todrive the dehydrating basket and the pulsator at an optimum speed ofrotatron.

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l8 9 l5 2 2*" I PQTENTEQ MAR 2 5 i975 FIG.2.

F1TENTED snmaurg' F l G 4 PROGRAM WASHING DRYING LEQHPN P LE W FLOWREVOLUT'ON 26 27 DRYING WA I-ING l STRONG STRONG g b 4 2 2 STRONG WEAK uq 4 4 3 WEAK STRONG b b 6 2 4 WEAK WEAK b q 6 4 HVEN TED W 2 51975 SiliTQ [If 4 FIG.6

WASHING MACHINE The present invention relates to a washing machine, andmore particularly to a washing machine provided with a pulsator at thecentral bottom portion of a basket disposed within a water tank incoaxial relation thereto with water reserved therein in which thepulsator is driven for washing and rinsing operations and the basket isrotated at a high speed to effect drying after the water in the watertank is drained.

A washing machine provided with a water tank, basket and pulsator iswell known in US. Pat. No. 3,306,082. The disclosed well known washingmachine includes a pulsator and a basket driven at the same rotationalspeed, and thus had the drawbacks of too much increased rotational speedof the pulsator with resultant great damages to cloths and articles tobe washed and of too much reduced rotational speed of the basket,resulting in insufficient drying.

It has been known that the washing machine of the kind with rotationalspeed of 400 to 500 revolutions per minute is most suitable for generaldomestic use from points of view of damages to the cloths and articlesto be washed and of a washing rate. It is, on the other hand, known thatthe greater the rotational speed of the basket, the more the drying rateis improved. Therefore, the speed of 800 to 1,000 revolutions per minuteis practically preferable in view of the fact that the drying rate ismaximized at the higher speed.

Thus, the conventional washing machine was provided with two motors forseparately driving the pulsator and the basket because of the differenceof the optimum rotational speed therebetween; alternatively, a

system has been proposed in the case of use of one motor wherein a powertransmission line from the motor to the pulsator is made different fromthat from the motor to the basket in reduction ratio by the use of areduction gear device or belts wound around between motor and basketshafts and between motor and pulsator shafts in two-stepped manner,respectively.

These conventional washing machines, however, have the drawbacks that:the washing machine provided with two driving motors has one of themstopped either during washing or during drying operations and hence theprovision of the two motors which are not operated simultaneouslyresults in expensive manufacturing cost; the reduction gear system withone motor gives rise to a fear of generating noises during driving if nocritical tolerance of the dimension of the gear assembly (i.e., pinionand gear) as well as that between their axes has been considered andthus the enhanced precision of parts results in much work required formachining and eventually in high manufacturing cost; and the beltsdisposed around in two-stepped manner can not successfully hold theirtension constant because on the same shaft of the motor there areprovided two sets of pulleys different from each other in reductionratio with the belts different in length disposed around theircorresponding pulleys, respectively, and further the relative velocitydeveloped between the pulsator and the basket during the dryingoperation, results in the break-down of the washed cloths and articleswhen they are disposed on both the bottom of the pulsator and the basketin bridged relationship.

On the other hand, there arises a request that the washing machine ofthe kind should be designed to be driven with a washing water flowselected in two strong and weak modes and with the rotational speed ofthe drying basket selected in two high and low modes in accordance tothe kind of cloths and articles to be washed, respectively.

An object of thepresent invention is to provide a washing machine inwhich one motor is provided therein to obtain the optimum driving speedsfor the pulsator and the basket without the need for making any use ofexpensive gear reduction devices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliablewashing machine free from large noises and failures by simplifying apower transmission line from a motor to the pulsator or to the basket.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a washingmachine programmable in four different modes by effecting selectivedrive of each of the pulsator and the basket in two modes with respectto its rotational speed.

The present invention is characterized in that a pole change motor isemployed for its drive with a maximum pole number during a washingoperation and with a minimum pole number during a drying operation.

The present invention will be described by way of embodiments inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross section ofa washing machine according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing in detail a clutch and break construction forselectively driving a drying basket and a pulsator of the washingmachine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of the washing machine;

FIG. 4 is a program chart for the operation of the washing machine;

FIG. 5 is a cam chart according to which a washing machine operates;

FIG. 6 is a circuit connection diagram for motor windings;

FIG. 7 is a connection diagram similar to that of FIG. 6 in which amotor is set with four-pole driving; and

FIG. 8 is a connection diagram similar to that of FIG. 6 in which amotor is set with six-pole driving.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a cylindrical water tank 2 with a bottom whichis elastically suspended within a housing 1 by means of four suspensionsprings 3. A basket 4 provided with a plurality of small drying holes onits circumferencial wall is disposed in the water tank 2 in coaxialrelation thereto. On the upper end circumference of the basket 4 thereis secured a balance ring 5 for absorbing vibrations occuring during thedrying operation and on the central bottom portion thereof there isprovided a pulsator 6. A pulsator shaft 7 secured to the lower surfaceof the pulsator 6 passes through and extends downwardly through a hollowshaft 8 fixed to the lower bottom surface of the basket 4 with a pulley11 secured at the lower end thereof. The hollow shaft 8 is rotatablysupported within a brake housing 13 secured to the bottom portion of thewater tank 2, and a brake drum 12 is secured within the brake housing 13to the hollow shaft 8 further extending downwardly therefrom to define aclutch boss portion 8a (FIG. 2) around which a clutch spring 14 iswound. The clutch spring 14 is wound on the clutch boss portion 8a ofthe hollow shaft 8 and on the outer circumference of the boss 25 of thepulley 11 secured to the lower edge of the pulsator shaft 7, in bridgedrelationship. The clutch spring 14 has a lower end 14a bent backoutwardly to engage with a coil collar 16 disposed at the outercircumference of the spring 14 as shown in detail in FIG. 2. On theouter circumference of the coil collar 16 there is formed projections16a (FIG. 2) for engaging with a clutch lever 17. The clutch spring 14is deactuated in a state of the engagement of the projection with theclutch lever 17, transmitting no drive power to the hollow shaft 8.

A brake lever is secured with the clutch lever 17, and these levers areoperated by the same magnet 22 (FIG. 3). The actuation of the magnet 22causes the brake lever 15 to be brought out of engagement with a brakeshoe 13a and the clutch lever 17 to be brought out of engagement withthe coil collar 16. The pulley 11 is connected to a pulley of the motor10 through a belt 9. This construction of the clutch and break asdescribed above is shown in detail in FIG. 2.

A draining valve 18 is connected to the magnet 22 and adapted to beopened upon actuation thereof. Reference numeral 19 shows a draininghose, 20 an overflowing hole opened at the upper portion of the sidewall of the water tank 2, and 21 a pressure switch for controlling thelevel of water contained in the water tank 2.

FIG. 3 shows an electric circuit diagram for the washing machine inwhich cam switches 32 to 37 are controlled by cam plates driven by atimer motor 24 in accordance with a cam chart shown in FIG. 5. The camswitch 37, not shown in FIG. 5, serves as a reversing switch foralternately reversing the motor 10 in the cycle of about seconds duringthe washing and rinsing operations for the purpose of reducing tanglingconditions of the cloths and articles to be washed. There are shown awater supply valve 23 and manually operated selection switches 26, 27serving to selectively change-over the washing and drying operations inthe strong and weak modes. A relay 28 for changing the number of thepole has contacts e, f, g,'h and i as shown in FIG. 6 and changes-overits contacts to a state as shown in FIG. 6 upon energization of a coil28a.

A capacitor 29 is used when the motor 10 is driven with two poles andcapacitors 30 and 31 are used for four-pole and six-pole driving of themotor, respectively. FIG. 6 shows a connection of the windings in themotor 10 in which windings 38 for use in the twopole driving arecomprised of main and auxiliary windings between which a capacitor 29 isconnected. Windings 39 are adapted for use in both four and six poledrivings, and establish the four-pole driving when two windings areconnected in parallel as shown in FIG. 7 and the six-pole driving whenthey are connected in series as shown in FIG. 8. These windings 38 and39 are inserted in corresponding slots of the motor 10.

The four-pole and six-pole drivings of the motor require phase advancingcapacitors having different capacitance, respectively, so that twocapacitors 30 and 31 are provided which are connected in parallel at thefour-pole driving and one capacitor 31 of which is disconnected from thecircuit by means of the contact e (FIG. 6) with only the other capacitor30 operating at the six-pole driving.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show circuit diagrams at the time of energization anddeenergization of the coil 28a, respectively, with the motor 10 drivenwith four poles upon the deenergization as shown in FIG. 7 and drivenwith six poles upon the energization as shown in FIG. 8.

In operation, in driving the washing machine with the strong mode of thewashing flow and strong mode of the drying revolution, i.e., inaccordance with Program No. 1 in the operational chart of FIG. 4, theselection switches 26 and 27 are manually connected to positions a and b(FIG. 3), respectively. Then the timer is set to an initiating positionwhereupon the cam switch 32 is closed and a water supply valve 23 isactuated for water supply through a position NC of the pressure switch21 and a position b of the cam switch 36. The reversing operation of thepressure switch 21 to a position NO due to the increased level ofwaterin the water tank 2 causes the timer motor 24 to be actuated andthe motor 10 to be driven through conduction of the motor 10 through theposition b of the cam switch 35, a reversing cam switch 37 and the relay28 because the cam switch 34 has already been connected to the positionb. At this time the relay coil 28a remains deenergized due to theconnection of the selection switch 26 to the position a, thereby causingthe motor 10 to be connected for fourpole driving as shown in FIG. 7. Inthis state, the driving force derived from the motor 10 is transmittedonly to the shaft 7 of the pulsator 6 to drive the latter because thebrake lever 15 and the clutch lever 17 shown in FIG. 2 are in engagementwith the brake shoe 13a and the coil collar 16, respectively, due todeenergization of the magnet 22. A ratio of diameter of the pulley 11 tothat of a pulley corresponding thereto and directly coupled to the motoris determined so that the pulsator 6 may be rotated at a speed of about500 revolutions per minute.

After the completion of the washing operation in a predetermined time,the cam switch 35 is connected to the position a to stop the motor 10and to render the magnet 22 conductive, thereby opening the drainingvalve 18 to effect a draining operation. The reduced level of water inthe water tank 2 causes the pressure switch 21 to be connected to theposition NC, but causes the water supplying valve 23 to remainnonoperated to continue to effect the draining operation because the camswitch 36 is changed-over to the position a.

After a lapse of time sufficient to effect the complete drain of waterin the water tank 2, the cam switch 36 is changed-over to the position bto close the cam switch 33 with the water supply valve 23 opened forwater supply. A predetermined amount of supply of water permits thepressure switch 21 to be connected to the position NO to actuate thetimer motor 24 and the motor 10 through the position b of the cam switch34, thus effecting the rinsing operation in the same manner as in theabove-mentioned washing operation.

During the rinsing step, the successive water supply is effected becausethe cam switch 33 is closed irrespective of the connection of thepressure switch to the position NO. The supplied water dilutes theconcentration of a cleanser contained in the water tank 2 and overflowsout of an overflow port 20 provided on the upper portion of the watertank 2, thus effecting a socalled overflow rinsing operation. Followingthe rinsing operation of a predetermined time, the cam switch 35 isconnected to the position a to stop the motor 10 and activate the magnet22 with the draining valve opened to drain the water.

After the lapse of the predetermined time, the complete drain of waterstill remaining in the water tank is effected to change-over the camswitch 34 to the position 0, thus entering an intermediate dryingoperation. The select switch 27 has already been set to the position bin the drying operation, so that a current flows through the two-polewindings 38 of the motor with the result of the high revolution of themotor 10. In this state, the continuous energization of the magnet 22 isprovided due to the connection of the cam switch 35 to the position a toopen the draining valve as well as to operate the brake lever and theclutch lever 17, thus bringing the brake mechanism out of engagement toeffect the unidirectional drive of the basket 4 at the high speedbecause the clutch spring 14 is disposed around the pulley boss 25 andthe hollow shaft 8.

The clutch spring 14 has its winding direction determined in such a waythat it is urged to wind around the pulley boss 25 and the hollow shaft8 due to the rotational drive of the motor at the drying operation inthe state of disengagement of the clutch lever 17.

The two-pole driving of the motor 10 permits the pulsator 6 as well asthe basket 4 to be driven at the speed of about 1,000 revolutions perminute with the strong centrifugal drying operation.

In the drying operation, the cam switches 34 and 35 are bothchanged-over to the position a. As a result, the motor 10 is connectedto the power supply through either of the positions a and b of theselection switch 27, so that only the windings 38 for two-pole drivingconnected to the position b of the selection switch 27 is connected tothe power supply in Program No. 1 with the windings completelydisconnected therefrom.

Subsequent to the drying operation of the predetermined time, watersupply, rinsing, draining and drying operations are effected in the samemanner as in the previously described water supply, rinsing, drainingand drying operations.

Next, the selection switches 26 and 27 are set to the position a whenthe washing operation is to be effected in accordance with Program No.2, i.e., in the strong mode of the washing water flow and in the weakmode of the drying revolution.

In thisProgram, the washing and rinsing operations are effected in thesame manner as those according to Program No. 1 with the four-poledriving of the motor 10 and the rotation of the pulsator at the speed ofabout 500 revolutions per minute.

In the drying step, however, the cam switch 34 is changed-over to theposition a to render the windings 39 of the motor 10 conductive becausethe selection switch has already been changed-over to the position a. Atthis time, the relay coil 28a remains deenergized with its relay contactreturned to the original state, and the circuit as shown in FIG. 7 isestablished to drive the motor 10 with the four poles. As a result, thebasket 4 and the pulsator 6 are rotated at the speed of about 500revolutions per minute with the weak centrifugal drying operation ascompared with that according to Program No. 1.

The operations according to the Program No. 2'are preferably suitablefor the cloths such as those made of polyester textiles which areresistant enough for the strong washing water flow but tend to crumpleagainst a stronger dehydrating force.

The operations according to Program No. 3 in which the washing waterflow is strong and the drying revolution is strong are suitable for usein washing wool products such as sweaters. In the Program No. 3, theselection switches 26 and 27 are set to the position b whereupon therelay coil 28a is energized with the contacts e,f, g, h and i turned tothe positions shown in FIG. 6 by solid lines to establish the circuitshown in FIG. 8 for six-pole driving of the motor 10 because the camswitches 34 and 35 are connected to the position b with the selectionswitch 26 changed-over to the position b in the washing and rinsingsteps. Consequently, the pulsator 6 is rotated at the speed of about 300revolutions per minute which is lower than in the washing stepsaccording to Program Nos. 1 and 2, thus resulting in the weaker waterflow.

In the drying step, on the other hand, the two-pole driving windings 38are energized through the position a of the cam switch and the positionb of the selection switch to rotate the basket 4 at the speed of 900 to1,000 revolutions per minute with the strong centrifugal drying.

The selection switches 26 and 27 are set to the positions b and a,respectively, in the operations according to Program No. 4 in which themotor 10 is driven with six poles at the washing and rinsing operationswhile with four poles at the drying operation, and which is mostsuitable for the products such as stockings made of nylon which requirewashing by weak water flow and weak drying.

The selection switches 26 and 27 can be operated independently of eachother, but may be set simultaneously for improvement of the operationsby utilizing a well-known piano switch in cooperation with four pushinglevers each provided with a mark corresponding to the program number andby operating one of the pushing levers.

In the embodiment described above, the windings 39 of the motor 10 areselectively connected in series and in parallel for four-pole andsix-pole drivings, but may be changed-over to the four-pole andeight-pole drivings wherein the pulsatoris rotated in the weak washingoperation halfa time as low as in the strong washing operation.

Further, another embodiment can be realized in which the motor ischanged in pole number to four poles, six poles or eight poles with thefour=pole driving for the strong drying, the six-pole driving for theweak drying and the strong washing, and the eight-pole driving for theweak washing.

In this embodiment, a ratio of the rotational speed of the basket in thestrong drying to that in the weak drying is three to two, and a ratio ofthe rotational speed of the pulsator in the strong washing and that inthe weak washing is four to three. In both the embodiments, the maximumnumber of revolution at the drying is 1.3 to 4 times as great as thenumber of revolution at the washing.

Thus, if the maximum number of revolution at the drying is set to be 1.3to 4 times as great as the number of revolution at the washing, then therotational speeds respectively nearly equal to the number of revolutionmost suitable for the drying and that most suitable for the washing canbe obtained by changing the pole number of the motor.

A ratio of the pole number to be changed to the minimum pole numberranges from 1.3 to 4, so that the motor having a torque requisite to thedrying and the washing can be manufactured with ease and without makingthe dimension too large.

It is to be noted that the motor can be driven with two different kindsof pole number, i.e., with two and four poles or four and eight poles inthe case where it is not necessary to set the number of revolution inmultiple steps at both the drying and washing operations. In this casethe motor is driven with a small number of poles at the drying operationwhile with a large number of poles at the washing and rinsingoperations.

In the case where the washing and drying operations are changed-over inthe two strong and weak modes, respectively, as in the previouslydescribed embodiment, the motor may be changed in pole number in threesteps wherein the strong washing operation and the weak drying operationare effected with the intermediate pole number. This permits theattainment of the expected objects with a very simplified drivingmechanism. In other words, as shown in FIG. 1, the selective switchingto the drying and the washing operations is effected by transmitting thedrive power from the motor 10 only to the pulsator 7 or both to thepulsator shaft 7 and the hollow shaft 8 with the result of the use ofonly one clutch device. This advantageously permits the use of the samedriving system for both the drying and washing operations withoutrequiring any conventional reduction mechanism such as gears for thedriving system.

According to the present invention, the rotational drive powertransmitted to the pulley 11 is selectively transmitted to the pulsator6 and the hollow shaft 8 through the clutch mechanism, so that thewashing machine improves its life span and reliability remarkably withthe driving system greatly simplified as compared with the conventionalones with the reduced defects.

Further, according to the present invention, the simultaneous revolutionof the pulsator 6 and the basket 4 during the drying operation allowsthe drying operation without any disorder even if the cloths andarticles to be washed are disposed on both the pulsator and the bottomof the basket in bridged relation.

The present embodiments require two kinds of windings 38 and 39 in themotor 10, only either one of which is rendered conductive with the otherdisconnected from the power supply with the result of a danger ofinducing a voltage on the idling winding, but short-circuited currenthardly flows through the windings due to the presence of the capacitorconnected in series with the resistance of the windings themselves. Ifthe short-circuited current greatly flows through the idling windingdepending upon the output from the motor, then the idling winding may beopen-circuited by providing the additional selection switches 26 and 27or contacts of the relay.

Further, in the case where the pole number is changed to two poles, fourpoles and eight poles, the windings can be connected by means of a relayin such a way as to always remove the idling windings.

As mentioned above, the present invention dispenses with the complicatedspeed changing mechanism because the motor is constructed to be changedin pole number in at least two steps wherein the motor is driven with asmall number of poles at the drying operation while with a large numberof poles at the washing and rinsing operations.

Further, the motor can be changed in pole number in three steps toeffect the weak drying and the strong washing operations at theintermediate speed in association with the switching operation of theclutch, thereby providing the washing machine with four kinds ofdifferent programmed operations.

Further, the speed change of the motor is effected by electric controlmeans such as relay cam switches consequently with the greatly reduceddisorders and with the enhanced reliability of the devices.

What is claimed is:

1. A washing machine comprising basket means for receiving articles tobe washed, said means being rotatably mounted in a water tank, pulsatingmeans provided for said basket means, pole change motor means fordriving said basket means and pulsating means, the number of poles ofsaid motor means being adjustable to control the motor means speed inthree steps, clutch means for transmitting driving power from the motormeans to the basket means during drying operation of the washingmachine, brake means for holding said basket means stationary duringwashing and rinsing operations of the washing machine, means foroperating said clutch means during drying operation of the machine so asto transmit the power from said motor means to the basket means, meansfor releasing said brake means during drying operation, and switch meansfor selecting the number of poles of said motor means corresponding to amaximum number or an intermediate number during washing and rinsingoperations of the machine.

2. A washing machine comprising basket means for receiving articles tobe washed, said means being rotatably mounted in a water tank, pulsatingmeans provided for said basket means, pole change motor means fordriving said basket means and pulsating means, the number of poles ofsaid motor means being adjustable to control the motor means speed inthree steps, clutch means for transmitting driving power from the motormeans to the basket means during drying operation of the machine, brakemeans for holding said basket means stationary during washing andrinsing operations of the machine, means for operating said clutch meansand releasing said brake means during drying operation of the machine,and switch means for selecting the number of poles of said motor meanscorresponding to a minimum number or an intermediate number duringdrying operation of the machine.

3. A washing machine comprising basket means for receiving articles tobe washed, said means being rotatably mounted in a water tank, pulsatingmeans provided for said basket means, pole change motor means fordriving said basket means and pulsating means, the number of poles ofsaid motor means being adjustable to control the motor means speed inthree steps, clutch means for transmitting driving power from the motormeans to the basket means during drying operation of the machine, brakemeans for holding said basket means stationary during washing andrinsing operations of the machine, means for operating said clutch meansand releasing said brake means during drying operation of the machine,first switch means for selecting the number of poles of said motor meanscorresponding to a maximum number or an intermediate number duringwashing and rinsing operations of the machine, and second switch meansfor selecting the number of poles of said motor means corresponding to aminimum number or an intermediate number during drying operation of themachine.

4. A washing machine according to claim 3, wherein said first and secondswitch means are connected to contacts of cam switches changed-overduring drying operation and during washing and rinsing operations of themachine.

10 basket means only during drying operation of the machine.

7. A washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the pulsator means islocated at a central bottom portion of the basket means, and wherein theclutch means transmits driving power from the motor means to the basketmeans only during drying operation of the machine.

1. A washing machine comprising basket means for receiving articles tobe washed, said means being rotatably mounted in a water tank, pulsatingmeans provided for said basket means, pole change motor means fordriving said basket means and pulsating means, the number of poles ofsaid motor means being adjustable to control the motor means speed inthree steps, clutch means for transmitting driving power from the motormeans to the basket means during drying operation of the washingmachine, brake means for holding said basket means stationary duringwashing and rinsing operations of the washing machine, means foroperating said clutch means during drying operation of the machine so asto transmit the power from said motor means to the basket means, meansfor releasing said brake means during drying operation, and switch meansfor selecting the number of poles of said motor means corresponding to amaximum number or an intermediate number during washing and rinsingoperations of the machine.
 2. A washing machine comprising basket meansfor receiving articles to be washed, said means being rotatably mountedin a water tank, pulsating means provided for said basket means, polechange motor means for driving said basket means and pulsating means,the number of poles of said motor means being adjustable to control themotor means speed in three steps, clutch means for transmitting drivingpower from the motor means to the basket means during drying operationof the machine, brake means for holding said basket means stationaryduring washing and rinsing operations of the machine, means foroperating said clutch means and releasing said brake means during dryingoperation of the machine, and switch means for selecting the number ofpoles of said motor means corresponding to a minimum number or anintermediate number during drying operation of the machine.
 3. A washingmachine comprising basket means for receiving articles to be washed,said means being rotatably mounted in a water tank, pulsating meansprovided for said basket means, pole change motor means for driving saidbasket means and pulsating means, the number of poles of said motormeans being adjustable to control the motor means speed in three steps,clutch means for transmitting driving power from the motor means to theBasket means during drying operation of the machine, brake means forholding said basket means stationary during washing and rinsingoperations of the machine, means for operating said clutch means andreleasing said brake means during drying operation of the machine, firstswitch means for selecting the number of poles of said motor meanscorresponding to a maximum number or an intermediate number duringwashing and rinsing operations of the machine, and second switch meansfor selecting the number of poles of said motor means corresponding to aminimum number or an intermediate number during drying operation of themachine.
 4. A washing machine according to claim 3, wherein said firstand second switch means are connected to contacts of cam switcheschanged-over during drying operation and during washing and rinsingoperations of the machine.
 5. A washing machine according to claim 1,wherein the pulsating means is located at a central bottom portion ofthe basket means, and wherein the clutch means transmits driving powerfrom the motor means to the basket means only during drying operation ofthe machine.
 6. A washing machine according to claim 2, wherein thepulsating means is located at a central bottom portion of the basketmeans, and wherein the clutch means transmits driving power from themotor means to the basket means only during drying operation of themachine.
 7. A washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the pulsatormeans is located at a central bottom portion of the basket means, andwherein the clutch means transmits driving power from the motor means tothe basket means only during drying operation of the machine.